


Boundaries Unknown

by theauthor2010



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Racism, Racist Language, Slurs, offensive language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-06-17
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:59:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam introduces Mercedes to his grandfather, the man who financially rescued his family. It all falls apart from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“No grandson of mine is going to date a nigger.”

It felt like the movement and chattering all around them stopped in that very instant. Mercedes was no stranger to racism. She was a black girl living in a conservative area of the US and had heard slurs tossed around before but never in her life had she heard one shouted directly at her with no care for the fact that she heard it. In fact, Sam’s grandfather wanted her to hear it and said it staring her directly in the eye.

Normally, she would have handed the racist bastard his ass in two seconds flat but this was Sam’s grandfather, the man that Sam had been so excited to introduce her to. Sam’s grandfather was the man who had come down from Tennessee in the middle of the summer in order to help Sam’s family. This was the man who was helping Sam’s family get back on their feet and had managed to get them a better place to live then the motel room they had been calling home all year.

Sam had practically begged her to come to the hotel his grandparents were staying to meet them. He was so proud of them and so thankful for all they had done. Now here she was, standing in her nicest dress, looking from her boyfriend to the man who said those horrible words and then back again. It was a nightmare. Sam’s parents stood there too, with Sam’s little siblings. They stared in shock and disbelief too. Mercedes had met them a few times and they were the sweetest, most hardworking people. Why was this all falling apart in the middle of a hotel lobby?

“Grandpa,” Sam snapped, as he came out of the shock and daze. “Y-you can’t say things like that.”

Mercedes looked at Sam and then at his parents, who were completely silent. Sam’s grandfather immediately launched into a rant. “I’ll damned well say it, because these two won’t,” he said, glaring at Sam’s parents. “What kind of boy are you two raising? Here he comes walking in and bringing some fat dirty ape in here like it’s no problem. This is not okay in any way at all.”

Mercedes couldn’t take the silence anymore. She took a look at Sam and then walked out of the hotel as fast as she could. She wasn’t the kind of girl who ran off crying, insulted and hurt but she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t handle it right there in the middle of the hotel with a boyfriend that she cared about so much staring in shock.

She wasn’t going to stand for this but she wasn’t going to stand there and take it either.

She stopped when she got outside, because Sam had picked her up and brought her to the hotel. She found a bench just outside the hotel and sat down, trying not to cry. The dam burst when she exhaled though, tears coming freely. She could not believe what she had just been called to her face. She had every right to go back in there and slap the old bastard, rip him a new one, but she couldn’t. It was Sam’s grandpa. She wasn’t a stranger to those slurs, but she just couldn’t take them in this manner.

Mercedes wasn’t sure how long she sat there staring. After awhile, she looked up and saw Sam coming over to her with Stevie and Stacy on either side. Sam opened his mouth to speak but Stevie did before he could. “Grandpa is screaming at mommy and daddy,” he mumbled low. “It’s kind of scary. Sam took us out here because he was screaming too and Sammy hates screaming.”

The two kids joined Mercedes on the bench, sitting on either side of her. Mercedes looked up at Sam who had so much guilt and horror in his eyes. “Mercedes,” he said softly, his eyes wet. She knew that he was struggling not to cry and she admired him for that. She knew this wasn’t his fault but god, that didn’t stop it from hurting any less. “Mercedes, I had no idea that my grandpa felt that way. I would have never done this to you if I had known. I…I just knew him from when I was a little kid and he always had these cool old stories and stuff. I never knew he was a horrible racist.”

Mercedes shrugged a little bit. Stacy decided to hug her, so she leaned over and held the tiny girl. “It’s alright Sam,” she said softly. “I was just shocked. Nobody’s ever said that to my face before; nobody would ever dare call me that horrible word to my face.”

“I know it,” Sam said softly. “I didn’t even realize that there were still people out there who thought like that, honestly. I mean, I’m not stupid, I knew that people were racist but I never imagined that someone in my own family would be so hateful.”

Mercedes shrugged again.

“My parents are fighting with my grandpa right now,” he said gently. “They’re not going to let him say things like that to you. They really love you and they know how good for me you are. They know that you make me happy and they’ll show him that.”

“Sam, I don’t doubt your parents,” she said, getting up and giving her boyfriend a small hug, “but people like your grandpa don’t change their opinions. I hope this is all going to be okay.”

“It is,” Sam reassured her.

“Why did Grandpa say mean things about ‘Cedes?” Stacy asked gently.

Sam stared at her and didn’t know what to say. Mercedes took the little girl by the hand. “It’s okay Stace,” she said sweetly. “Thanks for the hug. It made me feel so much better. Some people are just mean to people who look different.”

“But you’re really pretty,” Stacy argued.

Mercedes grinned, forcing the smile as best as she could. “I know it,” she said, shaking her head.

“I know it too,” Sam said. “It’ll be okay Stacy. Mom and Dad will sort it out.”

Sam had his hand on her shoulder and Mercedes felt a little bit comforted but she knew that this wasn’t the end of it. Sam’s grandfather was, after all, the person who had saved the Evans family from poverty and homelessness. She felt like she was going to be sick. “Shouldn’t you take the kids back inside?” she asked Sam gently.

“They don’t need to be exposed to that kind of language,” Sam said, looking at his siblings protectively. It melted Mercedes’ heart, really. Sam was such a good brother and was always looking out for his siblings. She could not imagine that a man like Sam Evans had come from the direct lineage of a man who spewed hate for no good reason, a racist. “After this blows over, I’ll drive you home. You don’t deserve to be exposed to this kind of sickness either.”

“Thank you Sam.”

“Scoot over Stevie,” Sam said, working his way onto the bench next to his little brother. Mercedes sat back down next to Sam, Stacy still clinging rather close to her. She was hurting, hurting bad but she kept herself strong because she had to be.

It took about twenty minutes for Mrs. Evans to come out of the hotel and collect her children. She was a very pretty woman, even though she looked tired and worn from the long months trying to get a decent job. “Stacy, Stevie, come on it’s time for us to be going to get some dinner, then we’re going home,” she said. Mercedes tried to meet the woman’s eyes but she kept avoiding hers.

“I’m going to take Mercedes home,” Sam said, but his mother ignored him as well. “C’mon Mercedes, let’s go.”

“Alright Sam,” she said, unnerved and completely shaken to her core.


	2. Going to be okay.

After several thousand different versions of I’m sorry, Sam left Mercedes. She went inside and of course, her mother was in the front room. “Mercedes, what happened?” she asked, walking up to her daughter and staring. Mercedes knew that she could never hide anything from her mother, especially not the fact that she had been crying. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, before taking off her sweater.

“I went with Sam to meet his grandfather today,” she said softly, trying to keep up a strong face. “He’s the worst racist that I’ve ever met Mama. The first thing that he when I introduced myself was: no grandson of mine is ever going to date a n-I’m not going to say it, you know what I mean.” She sniffled but more tears came from talking to her mother.

The woman immediately approached Mercedes and wrapped her arms around her. Mercedes cried on her mother’s shoulder, shaking her head from side to side. She couldn’t believe that this was actually happening and she couldn’t stop expressing that shock and horror. “Shh shh baby girl,” her mom cooed, rocking her a little bit and rubbing her shoulder.

“Sam was so good,” Mercedes said, her voice heavy with tears. “He handled it as best as he could but he had no idea his grandpa was such a horrible man. He was as shocked as I was and he kept apologizing over and over like he didn’t know what to do.”

“Oh my Mercedes, I am so sorry…”

“If it had been anyone else to call me the n-word I would have…I would have done something,” she said, almost vowing it to her mother. She could not believe that she had let anyone get away with calling her that horrible word. “It was just, it was Sam’s grandpa, who saved his family and I was in shock. I stood there like some dumb kid and then I ran off. I didn’t know what else I could do.”

“Oh Mercedes,” her mother said, pulling back from the hug. “There are times when we can’t come out like the strong women we are with guns blazing and all. You were shocked and so was that adorable boy of yours. I don’t blame you for not doing anything about it.”

She shrugged and wiped her eyes. “Sam is strong,” she said, “but he was at a loss too. Mom, I never thought that racism like this could happen. It’s the United States; it’s 2011. Was it that stupid of me to think that at least real hateful, hurtful racism was over and done with? He called me a nigger to my face…”

Her mom held her hand tightly, even though she’d let her go. “There’s a lot of hate in this world,” she said softly, seriously. “I know that it’s hard to experience hate firsthand but there’s also a lot of love in the world too. Things will be alright. He’s just one hateful man and you know that your boy Sam isn’t going to stand for it.”

Mercedes nodded but she wasn’t so very sure about that. Sam was strong and he wasn’t racist but at the same time his grandfather was a hero to his entire family. “His little sister Stacy called me beautiful,” Mercedes mumbled, looking down at her feet. “Sam tried to explain carefully that their grandpa had called me something horrible because I look different and she said, ‘but ‘Cedes is beautiful.’”

Her mother met her smile with one of her own. “Now that is an intelligent child,” she said, brushing the tears off of her daughter’s face. “The innocence of a child often takes away the worst hatred that comes from adult, grown men. You are beautiful, Mercedes and Sam and his siblings know that well.”

She nodded.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and shower baby girl? It’s getting late anyway and we can hang out and watch a movie before bed. We have church early tomorrow morning.”

“Alright Mom,” she said, going upstairs.

Mercedes went upstairs to the bathroom and took off her dress. She was angry, she decided. Angry felt a lot better than being hurt, wounded. Angry was natural because someone had called her a racist slur. She was a proud black woman and someone had called her something horrible, unforgivable, so anger was the most natural of the reactions she could have. She had spent a lot of time dressing up, looking good, trying to impress her boyfriend's family members and one of them had spit on who she was.  
Mercedes wouldn’t say she was in love with Sam yet, but god, he was a wonderful boy and the perfect first boyfriend. He treated her like a princess. He was good to her and had no idea that this was going to happen. She wiped her eyes a little bit, trying not to cry. It was stupid to cry because this was all easily sorted out. It would all be just fine. She finished showering, making sure to wash off her makeup and then got into her pajamas. It would all be better in the morning.

That morning at church, Mercedes decided to talk to a friend, a wise woman, the Reverend's wife Dina. Dina was one of the wisest women that she knew and generally gave advice to the young female parishioners when her husband could not. "Di," she said softly, approaching the woman after services were over. "Have you ever experienced direct face-to-face racism? Like, has anyone ever called you the n-word to your face?"

The woman's face darkened at that. "Did someone call you that god-awful word, Mercedes?" she asked, drawing Mercedes closer. She nodded slowly, hating to admit that someone had and even more hating to admit that it hurt badly. "Oh sweetpea, I am so sorry. To answer your question, yes, I have been. I think you forget that I'm an old woman compared to you and moved here from the South before I got married."

Mercedes nodded. She knew that things were worse in some areas and of course, back in a time that didn't seem so modern. "It was my boyfriend's grandfather," she said, wiping her eyes because God, it hurt her just to think about it. "My boyfriend didn't really know him, except for when he was a kid. He had never heard him use a term like that before so, so it wasn't Sam's fault but he took me to meet his grandpa and out of nowhere he said that no grandson of his was going to date a...you know."

“Oh darling,” the woman said quietly, holding Mercedes close to her in a sudden hug. Mercedes, who wasn’t that big on open affection, trusted it from those at her church. She hugged back tightly. “It’s alright sweetie. Luckily those horrible hateful people, as much as they still exist, are far outnumbered today. You’re going to be okay.”


	3. Excuses

Sam returned back home after dropping Mercedes off. Well, he did wait awhile; he knew that if he stalled a bit then his parents would eat dinner and return to their new home. He was not going back to the hotel because he could not stand the idea of being near his grandpa. He could not believe the man had done that. Even worse, he could not believe he’d once admired him.

Once home, neither of his parents said a word to him. Sam was furious and he let it show. “How could you guys let him get away with that?” he yelled. His grandfather had called his girlfriend the n-word and his parents were trying to act like it had never happened. They were trying to brush over it and go on with their lives and Sam was not going to take that. "He hurt Mercedes so bad, Mom. She was ready to fall apart, but didn't because she's a strong girl and wouldn't do that in front of me and...and...it's not fair Mom. He can't just get away with it."

"Sam, your grandfather is from a different generation," she responded tensely. Sam could tell she was uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than she usually was but he continued to press her. They could not let him get away with what he’d done.

“That doesn’t excuse him,” he said firmly. "He absolutely humiliated my girlfriend and said something that hasn't been socially acceptable for like a hundred years. Aren't you guys going to do something?" He hated that he sounded like a scared child who needed his mommy and daddy's help but something had to be done, right? They had to do something.

"Sam," his mother said sharply. "I can't discuss this with you right now."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because Sam," she said, meeting his eyes, "your grandfather is very angry about what he saw tonight. He's threatening to stop payment on everything. I know as well as you do that he wasn't right in what he said to Mercedes, but right now your father and I have to focus on keeping our family fed and keeping all of us out of that god awful motel."

Sam's heart jumped and his throat tightened. "He's threatening to stop helping us because my girlfriend is black?" he asked bluntly. He knew that his question was stating the obvious but he couldn't believe it. He could not believe it at all. "Mom, are we going to wind up back in the motel?"

"No," she said harshly. "No, Sam. We're going to reason with your grandfather. It would just help if...if Mercedes didn't come around for awhile."  
Sam couldn't help himself from staring at his mother like she was from Mars. What the hell was she trying to tell him? It sounded an awful lot like they were going to do whatever it took to placate his grandfather and Sam was not going to stand for that. This was unjust, this was wrong and this had hurt Mercedes. Sam was not going to let his grandfather be a part of his life, nevertheless a huge part of it, yet, he realized what was going on before it happened. His grandfather had saved his family from poverty. They owed him everything.

"You mean, we're just going to listen to everything he said about Mercedes? Mom, what are we supposed to tell him, that I broke up with her because I saw the error of my ways about those horrible black people? I know that he's helped us out of our mess with money but..."

"Sam, we have to put our priorities in order. We're living in a safe place now. You know what the motel was doing to us."

"My priorities are in order," Sam snapped. He couldn't help the dam that burst; he hurt too much. "I've done everything I can to help us, Mom. I took that stupid pizza job and enough hours to kill myself so the kids had food. I...I have given up everything in the past months. I know what it means to be out of the motel but can we really forgive an unrepentant racist? Do we not have dignity left?" Sam was afraid of what the answer to that question really might be.

"I've learned that some things need to be let go, Sam."

"So did I," he snapped. "I gave up everything. Isn't dignity the last thing left?"

His mother looked at him, pity swirling in her eyes. She looked so sad that Sam couldn’t help the guilt that surged, but still, he was in the right here. "Sam, your father and I will always appreciate the sacrifices you made for this family," she said. "I am so proud to call you my son, Sam; you've gone above and so far beyond what any teen would be expected to do. I'm not saying you need to break up with Mercedes..."

"Sure sounds like it," Sam said.

"I'm just asking you go along with what you have to with your grandfather."

Sam groaned and it came out as almost a growl. "Haven't I given up enough yet?" he asked her, pain flaring up. "Do you even care how much he hurt Mercedes? She's the strongest girl I know, but she honestly looked ready to fall apart. My parents, my own parents, didn't even try to comfort her or you know, assure her it'd be okay."

"Sam..."

He closed his eyes. "I'll think about it," he said. "Mom, I'm going to see if I can spend the night with Kurt and Finn, okay? I just don't want to be here right now. I just need to be with someone else.”

To his surprise, she nodded. Sam had been given a lot of freedom in the past couple of months because of the epic strides he took for his family. "I am so sorry Sam," she whispered softly.

"Me too," he said, heading back to his car.

He wasn’t exactly sure why he chose to go to Finn and Kurt’s place, but it was probably because they were living in the same house and Kurt was one of the most understanding guys he knew. Finn was, well, he had a history with Finn but he was sure that they were back to being sort of decent at least. They also lived pretty close by.

He stood at the door and then knocked, once he realized there was nothing else he could do. He looked around him. It was late. He was probably going to freak out Kurt and Finn’s parents, but there was nothing else that he could do. He couldn’t be at home.

Finn’s mom answered the door. Sam had only really met her once but she seemed to recognize him. “Hey there,” she said with a bright smile on her face that was mixed with a confused expression in her eyes. “You’re Sam, from glee, right? What are you doing here so late?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “I was wondering if I could um, see Kurt and Finn for a minute.” He would ask to stay there if it came to it but right now, the immediate crisis was that he needed someone to talk to. It was an emergency of sorts.

“Boys!” she called up the stairs.

Moments later, Kurt appeared. “Sam?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He came the rest of the way down the stairs and approached Sam, a look of concern on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk,” he whispered. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”

Kurt nodded. “Come in,” he said, looking suddenly protective. It was funny, the way that everyone thought Kurt needed protecting when he was one of the toughest guys Sam knew. Sam quietly thanked Mrs. Hudson and followed Kurt upstairs to where Finn was starting to come down. Kurt knew how to handle a crisis well.

“Dude, what’s up?” Finn asked.

“I just…” Sam mumbled, but before he could explain he looked to Kurt. “Can we go somewhere private? Finn, you can come too.”

The three boys hurried into Kurt’s bedroom, where Kurt gestured for Sam to sit down. “What happened to you Sam?” Kurt asked a look of concern on his face. Kurt was positively mothering sometimes but it was really nice right now. Sam knew he needed it. “It’s late. I think you totally startled Carole.”

Sam looked at the two boys and groaned. “Something really bad happened on my date with Mercedes tonight,” he said softly.

That immediately sprung Kurt to action. “Where is she? Is she okay Sam? What happened?” he asked.

“She’s fine,” Sam mumbled. “I took her to see my grandfather tonight. He said he wanted to meet my girlfriend and everything, so I figured it would be nice. We got dressed up and went to the hotel he’s staying at. He…he took one look at her and called her the n-word.”

“WHAT?” Kurt asked, his eyes going wide. He had been about to sit down next to Finn on the bed, but jolted up into a standing position. “What did you say that man called my girl?”

“You heard me,” Sam said dejectedly, avoiding Kurt’s eyes. He knew that Kurt wasn’t angry at him but he couldn’t help feel that it was his fault. He had taken Mercedes there and had no idea what kind of man his grandfather was. “He said that no grandson of his was going to be dating a…you know what.”

“I don’t get why he’d say that,” Finn mumbled.

“Me neither,” Sam said. “I don’t think there’s really a logical or nice way to explain why racist people are racist.”

“Wait, isn’t your grandfather the man who…” Kurt began and Sam finished the sentence for him.

“Yeah,” he said. “He’s the man who saved my family. I really care about Mercedes, Kurt. I’m starting to fall for her fast. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I don’t want to lose her.”

“Are you family members telling you to dump her?” Kurt asked.

Once again, Finn looked confused. “Why would they ask Sam to dump her?” he asked, turning his head to look at Kurt.

“Because, Sam’s grandfather helped his family out financially,” Kurt told Finn, looking back to Sam with the same question lingering in his eyes. “Are they Sam?”

Sam shook his head. “Not really, but sort of,” he said softly. “I left home tonight because I had a fight with my mom. She pretty much implied that I should play along and not have Mercedes come by for awhile. She basically told me that I have to shove my dignity aside and play into a racist’s hands because he’s giving us money.”

“That’s messed,” Finn whispered.

“Haven’t I given up enough for my family?” Sam asked.

“You have, Sam,” Kurt said. “Can I ask Carole if you can spend the night? I know that you probably don’t want to go back there with all that’s going on. Finn can give you some pajamas and we can just play some video games or something.”

“That’d be…great, Kurt.”

Carole, of course, said yes to Kurt’s request. According to Kurt, she could tell Sam was distressed and she was always like that when kids were upset or in a bad situation. The three boys played video games and talked a little and it was a nice day. Sam actually slept pretty well despite the thoughts that were bothering him so deeply.

When he woke up, around ten then next morning, he heard Kurt on the phone. “Yeah, ‘cedes,” Kurt said into the receiver, tenderly. “He’s in a bad situation with his grandfather financially supporting his family. His parents are…well being stubborn about playing into the grandfather’s hands. I’m sure it’ll be okay sweetheart. No, you and Sam are not going to break up. He loves you Mercedes and he’ll find a way.”

Sam groaned and put a pillow over his head, hoping that Kurt was right.


	4. All I ask

Mercedes hung up with Kurt, lying back against her bed. She had known this went deeper than one messed up racist and had been afraid to hear just that. Sam’s father was the man who saved his family from their horrible financial situation and she should have known that was going to affect this whole situation. Sam’s parents had been working like crazy to get themselves out of that hole and Sam had let on to her just how deeply his siblings were suffering. His siblings had been suffering so much as a result of the family’s poverty.

Stacy’s grades had dropped considerably, according to the concerned big brother. Apparently, she was picking up on the frustrations of her family and it had been making her sick, distracted. The two young kids had also been bringing lunches to school that no little kid should have to. They had been in a miserable situation.

Sam had been suffering too. Mercedes could see the exhaustion in his eyes when she met him at work to bring him something to eat himself. He worked way more hours than any successful high school student could, because it kept his family afloat. He was hurting so damned much and leading an adult life even though he was only sixteen.

“Cedes?”

She looked up and saw her mother’s head peeking through her bedroom door. “Hi Mama,” she mumbled, not even bothering to call her mother out for intruding on her privacy. She really needed her mother and that comfort. She couldn’t cast that away.

“Is something wrong?”

She nodded a little bit. She looked over the top of her head. “You can come in,” she said, sitting up. “I just realized how bad this whole thing with Sam is going to be. I mean, that man was a horrible, awful racist but he also saved Sam’s family from going under. You know how much Sam’s family has been going through.”

She nodded, wisely.

Mercedes was never one to keep things from her mother and she had told her what she could about her boyfriend’s financial situation.

“Do you think it’ll prevent Sam from dating you?” her mother asked, gently.

“I don’t know,” Mercedes mumbled. “I don’t wanna lose him Mama, not at all, but if it means that his family would be safe?” That just seemed to be the ultimate set of questions for Mercedes. Would she be willing to give up Sam and would he be willing to give her up? Did they have to? How could they keep the Evans family safe and keep what they had?

Mercedes felt lucky that her mother saw the same dilemma she did. “That is extremely difficult,” she said, hugging her daughter close, “but it’ll be okay Mercedes. I have faith in you; I have faith in that boy. I don’t know him very well yet but I sense a good spirit in him. He’s going to do whatever he has to. He’s already survived more than any little boy should have to deal with.”

Sam was the strongest person that Mercedes knew, honestly. She knew that she herself was blessed, being the child of a dentist and living in an upper middle class that didn’t feel the insane struggles Sam’s family had. She was lucky and she was dating the strongest guy she knew.

She didn’t see Sam again until he found her in the choir room the next day. She had gone to rehearse, think, even though glee didn’t meet on Mondays. “I hoped I’d find you here,” Sam said softly, slipping into the choir room. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the conversation and then turning around.

“Hey,” she said softly, forcing a smile.

There was a long moment between them. Sam shook his head and he just looked so heartbroken. She wanted to hug him, but she resisted the urge. “Mercedes, I am so sorry about what happened with my grandfather,” he said. “I really didn’t know he was like that and…nobody deserves the kind of disrespect you received there, not just from him, but from my parents. My mom and dad are not bad people, they just…”

“I know Sam,” she said gently. “I know exactly what you’re saying. They didn’t want to put themselves at odds with the guy who saved your lives.”

“I thought that my dignity was the one thing they couldn’t take from me,” Sam said honestly, sitting down at the piano bench and staring at her. He looked as though he were going to cry, but struggled against it. “I mean, they took everything else. I’ve given up everything for my family.”

“Are they asking you to dump me?” she asked, bluntly. She knew that Sam was as miserable as she was, if not more, but she just had to know the answer to that question. She had to know if this was going to take her first love away from her.

Sam shrugged a little. “Not entirely,” he admitted. “My mom just told me that it’d be best if you didn’t come around for awhile. That just pisses me off so much, you know. I mean, I really am crazy about you Mercedes. I love being with you. I haven’t been this happy in years. You’re everything that a girlfriend should be.

“Except for the fact that I’m black,” she mumbled low. She couldn’t help it. “Sam, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to help you family.”

“I’ve done everything I can to help my family,” Sam muttered bitterly. “I’m not going to give you up just because my disgusting grandfather might get wind of me dating you. It’s going to be alright. We’re going to be alright.”

Mercedes frowned a little at that. “Sam,” she said delicately, leaning over and taking her boyfriend’s hand. “I don’t hold it against you, at all. I think that you should do whatever you can to keep your family safe. You’ve been suffering so much for those kids and you don’t want to go back to that. You were struggling so hard and Stacy and Stevie were messing up in school and you don’t wanna go back there.”

“Is it really worth it to deal with a man like that?”

Mercedes shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.”

“You’re the best thing to ever happen to me,” Sam mumbled. “I never had a girlfriend who likes me for me and sees me as an equal. I really want us to work out Mercedes, but I’d understand if you wanted to dump me.”

“I don’t,” she said gently.

“I don’t want to lose you either Mercedes,” he said. “I’ll do what I have to with my grandfather but I’m with you.”

“That’s all I ask,” she said, leaning over and kissing him.


	5. Chapter 5

To Sam’s great surprise, things didn’t go as horribly as he thought they would. Mercedes didn’t come over to his place but he made a habit of going to hers or simply taking her out. She completely understood why he had to do what he had to do. She was the best girlfriend in the world and he just loved her so much. He started to think that maybe things could go smoothly and his family could get back on their feet while leaving his love life intact, when his grandfather came up for another friendly visit to make sure the family’s new home was in good condition. He wasn’t going to invest his money in just anything, after all.

Sam tried his best to ignore the old man’s presence, but it was hard to ignore him when he went straight up to Sam and told him, “good on you for dumping that girl on her black ass.”

His jaw clenched, he froze up and looked over at his grandfather. He had to try the best that he could. He thought of his siblings and of his own stress; he thought of the way that things were actually getting better in all of their lives on account of the very disgusting racist old man in front of him. “Can we not talk about that, please?” he said gently, though the strain was obvious. His parents were both upstairs, but his mother was just coming down the stairs when he spoke. She paused and looked from the old man to her son.

“Now come on, Sammy boy,” he said in his heavily accented voice. “You did a good job there. Your parents were just as disgusted at the thing you brought home as I was, ain’t I right?” He turned his head up and looked at Sam’s mother. She stood there, speechless, so he continued on. “There ain’t nothing those Negros are good for and it’s best that you learned it young boy. Your mama and daddy had let you go any further and you’d have been bringing them home bastard dark babies.” His voice rose with each hateful word he spoke.

“Stacy is doing homework in the other room,” Sam’s mom finally managed. “Let’s keep it down, alright?”

“It’s important the lil ones learn their lessons about mixing too. It never created a goddamned thing except chaos and sickness. That nigger pig was trying to work her way into a good American family and it pisses me off.”

“I can’t do this!” Sam yelled, looking at his mother apologetically. He knew that he would regret this for the rest of his life but once the dam had burst he just let it go. He couldn’t take the kind of pressure that came from lying about an essential part of who he was. “Mercedes is the sweetest girl in the whole world. She treats me better than any girl ever has and she respects me. She’s funny and creative and a brilliant musician. Her skin color makes absolutely no difference to me and I love her just the way she is. If you punish my family for the fact that I feel differently then you do, well then that’s on you, isn’t it?”

Sam took a very deep breath. He felt like throwing up and he knew that he shouldn't have opened his mouth but he had to. He was a good boyfriend and the man was tearing Mercedes to shreds. It was only logical. He looked up to see that not only was his mother staring in shock, so was his father, who had followed the noise downstairs. "Are you going to let this child talk to your father in that way?" his grandfather asked, looking at his dad. The man stood at the top of the stairs looking shocked and exhausted. "Are you raising a kid who doesn't know his place?"

"Maybe Sam is right," his father said, so timid for the strong man Sam knew him to be. "Dad, I've met Mercedes and she's a very sweet girl. I promise I won't let her do anything negative to Sam."

“It doesn’t matter what she seems like. I told you that I was not going to support a bunch of nigger lovers and I meant it.”

“Then get out of my house!”

Sam turned around to see his mother standing there and clasping a hand over her mouth at her own words. She looked at his father and shook her head apologetically. "My family doesn't need a fantastic house to survive. My job at the school is enough to put money down on an apartment near Sam's school." She stopped and Sam could see the wordless conversation forming between his parents. "I'm sorry, but Sam was right about one thing. Dignity is precious and I'm not letting a racist dictate my kid's life."

He thought his father would explode with anger, being totally complacent when his own father was involved but instead he nodded. "Dad, I hope you still have it in your heart to help your own family regardless," he said delicately, looking close to tears, "but I can't ask my son to drop a good girl for this. Strong, confident and sweet young women aren't a dime a dozen these days and I'm proud of Sam for picking a good one. He’s with a girl that is worthy of your grandson, regardless of the color of her skin.”

Sam waited for more anger and hatred to spew out of his grandfather at that but the man just stared at them. He was seething with it, his face turning redder by the second. He opened his mouth but then shut it again. “I’m leaving,” he said in a voice that was about sixty billion times calmer than his face. “I can’t believe you.”

“Well, Dad, I can’t believe you,” his father whispered.

His grandfather stormed out and Sam was left with the aftermath. He didn’t know what to do. Stacy came out of the room where she had been doing her homework and stared at her parents. His mother clamped a hand over her mouth and looked at his father in apology. His father started crying.

“I’m sorry,” Sam whispered, spiraling helplessly to the couch where he sat down.

“It is not your fault,” Sam’s father said quickly, but Sam couldn’t help feel that it was. He immediately grabbed his phone and texted Mercedes. He needed his girlfriend. He needed her now because it had all gone to hell and it was all his fault.


	6. Chapter 6

Mercedes and her mother arrived in minutes. Sam was a little surprised that Mercedes brought her mother, but at the same time it helped. She walked Mercedes up to the door. Sam opened the door and immediately pulled his girlfriend into a tight hug. “I’m glad you came,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her and leaning into her shoulder. “He was here a little while ago and it got really bad. It blew up with my parents.”

“What happened?” Mercedes asked.

"It was horrible," Sam blurted out, not even caring that his girlfriend's mother was standing right behind her. In fact, it kind of made him feel better. "He started going off again and there was nothing that I could do. I tried my best to just take it. I knew he would be leaving in a few hours. He just got so bad though that I lost it. My parents supported me in saying it, even my dad, but hell, Mercedes we’re going to lose everything.”

He couldn’t help himself. He started crying at that. He choked, nearly sobbing out the words. He closed his eyes tight and found that he was crying in front of his girlfriend. He hated it. He was so damned weak. Mercedes reached forward and pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s okay Sam,” she said, rubbing his shoulder. “We’re going to find a way to get you and your family through this.”

Mercedes’ mom, who had been standing back, was quick to agree. “Sam, sweetie, ‘cedes has told me a lot about what’s going on. You’re such a strong young man and we’ll find a way to help you out. Sweetie, I’m going to be waiting down the street okay? I need to call your father at work.”

“Alright,” she said. “Thank you for driving me Mama.”

Mercedes and Sam walked over towards the sofa. Sam looked up at Mercedes and smiled. “Your mom is nice,” he said awkwardly.

She nodded.

“She is. I’m sorry I told her everything. I just needed some help.”

“It’s totally okay,” he said as she rubbed his shoulder. She was pretty quiet, comforting. Sam then realized that he wasn’t sure where his parents had gone. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind then did his dad walk into the room. He looked up at the man, still leaning close to Mercedes for comfort.

“Sam,” he said. “I am so sorry for all we put you through.”

Sam listened while his father spoke, but he didn't quite look at him. "Yeah?" he asked, leaning up close to Mercedes shoulder and not looking him in the eye. He couldn’t. He was so mad but at the same time he was so worried. He was tired, exhausted. He had been through so much and it sort of seemed at this point like it would never stop. When would he be able to just get some rest and have it easy?   
"Yes," his father said. "Your mother and I have put you into positions that no sixteen year old kid should be in. We’ve asked you to do too much. God knows we never would have if the devastation hadn’t hit in the way it did. We didn’t have much of a choice. We had a choice though this time, Sam and we tried to make you deny your feelings to appease my dad. That wasn’t okay. Mercedes, I owe you a huge apology too.”

Sam watched as Mercedes looked right up at his father. She was a lot bolder than he was. She was such a brave girl.

“We shouldn’t have even tried to let my dad get away with what he said to you,” he said, softly. “I knew that my dad had some very racist opinions but I was certain that he’d gotten over them. I really thought that he had. I guess that sometimes we try and wave away the negative qualities of the people we care about.”

“I understand,” Mercedes said tensely but Sam could see that she was not as forgiving as she sounded. He was glad. She was absolutely humiliated and hurt by his family. He wanted to protect his girlfriend so much but instead he dragged her into some old conflict, racially motivated hate and everything that was bad about being a member of his family. It just sucked so badly. Sam wasn’t sure what to do.

“I am so, so sorry,” his father said, obviously hearing Mercedes’ hesitance in the same way that Sam heard it. “I just…I was so determined to get everything back together.”

“Trust me, I understand,” Mercedes said uneasily. “I really do get it. You have to do whatever you can to protect your family.”

She was so amazing. Sam was just so in love with her that it hurt. “What do we do now?” he choked out. He knew that they weren’t doing the right thing by giving up their pride, but oh god, he couldn’t imagine taking the kids back to some car or crappy motel room. They deserved better. He opened his mouth to speak but found that tears came instead. Fuck, he was crying in front of his girlfriend and father, two people he hated to embarrass. “Will we go under again without his money?”

“I’m trying to believe he’ll come through,” his father said tensely. “But I’m afraid that may be my hope for my father talking again. We’ll survive Sam, I swear it. I…I need to go check on your mother and the kids. I don’t know exactly what they heard.”

“Do that,” Sam whispered. He needed his parents to be the adults right then. When his father walked out of the room he choked out his words, “I don’t know what we’re going to do. I can’t let them hurt again Mercedes.”

She held him tightly and rubbed his shoulder. “My family always says that God will come through when you least expect it,” she said, shrugging a little bit. “I think that we have to be strong and have faith okay? Your parents came through and supported you because somehow, someone knew that you couldn’t keep going on being insulted, hurt-”

“And I couldn’t keep listening to the girl I love being insulted.”

She turned to him and smiled. “Oh Sam,” she said, leaning over and pulling him into a tighter hug. “You’re just the most amazing guy that I’ve ever met in my life. I can’t even describe it to you. You make me feel so perfect.”

“You are,” he said, leaning close.

“I have faith things are gonna be okay,” Mercedes said seriously. “I just do.”


End file.
